<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Where Art Thou? by lesbiannoodlesoup</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28997364">Where Art Thou?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesbiannoodlesoup/pseuds/lesbiannoodlesoup'>lesbiannoodlesoup</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hannibal (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Theatre, Ambiguous/Open Ending, M/M, Murdering your opponent to get the role, Romeo and Juliet References, That may change, They are all theatre kids, Will is a little too unfazed, actually pretty in-character for Hannibal</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 10:48:47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,357</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28997364</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesbiannoodlesoup/pseuds/lesbiannoodlesoup</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Hannibal desperately wants the lead in this year’s production of Romeo and Juliet, and he’ll do anything to get it. </p>
<p>High School Theatre AU inspired by a Tiktok by @girlbosshanniballecter</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>58</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Where Art Thou?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>It is fact that any and all Hannibal fans are/were theatre kids at some point.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Will was the first one to see the cast list that morning. Not that it was on purpose; he honestly didn’t care too much about who was who, considering he only ran sound. But he was at school early that morning and happened to pass by the auditorium doors on his walk around the empty halls. Auditions were only a few days prior and nobody had expected to see a list quite yet. And as much as Will told himself he didn’t care, he still decided to read it. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Not that it’ll be a surprise, </span>
  </em>
  <span>he thought.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone knew who the leads would be. Alana Bloom was a senior with a pretty voice who everyone knew would be Juliet. Will didn’t know her all that well, but she’d been in every show for the past four years, and had been in supporting roles for most of them. Romeo was pretty obvious too. Hannibal Lecter had been getting leads since his freshman year, and now that he was a senior, it wasn’t even a question. From what Will overheard from the ensemble cast, Hannibal wasn’t very well liked, on account of his suck-up attitude. But his charm and charisma had earned him a place on Mr. Crawford’s favorites list, so Will couldn’t blame him. Will didn’t know who would take the other roles, but it wasn’t like he’d be paying attention to much more than his soundboard. He finally took a look at the list.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Juliet………………………..Alana Bloom</b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Romeo……………………...Tobias Budge</b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Mercutio…………………..Hannibal Lecter</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>What? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Will didn’t even bother reading the rest. He had to think for a minute about who Tobias even </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>before he could really register the insanity of it all. Hannibal not at a lead role? For the fall production of his senior year? Will wondered if this was just some kind of wild joke. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>From what he could remember about Tobias (which wasn’t a lot), he was a junior, and a transfer at that. He’d played a minor role in last spring’s show, but nothing about his performance  was spectacular or memorable. Will hadn’t watched the auditions, but Tobias must have done some kind of summer training to land a role like that. He pulled out his phone to text Beverly. She ran costumes and liked to tell him all the gossip, even if he wasn’t paying too much attention. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>W: </span>
  <em>
    <span>Holy shit, I just saw the cast list.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>B: </span>
  <em>
    <span>What is it?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Will sent her a photo.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>B: </span>
  <em>
    <span>No. Fucking. Way. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>W: </span>
  <em>
    <span>Right!</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>B: </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hannibal’s gonna be so pissed. I can’t wait.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>W: </span>
  <em>
    <span>You don’t like him?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>B: </span>
  <em>
    <span>Obviously. Haven’t I told you?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>W: </span>
  <em>
    <span>I doubt I was listening.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>B: </span>
  <em>
    <span>He thinks he’s better than us. Just because I don’t kiss Crawford’s feet doesn’t mean I don’t belong in the program. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>W: </span>
  <em>
    <span>Damn. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>B: </span>
  <em>
    <span>I cannot wait for rehearsal tonight. How much do you wanna bet he’ll show up with mascara running down his face?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>W: </span>
  <em>
    <span>He’s in my history class. I’ll send you an update.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>B: </span>
  <em>
    <span>You’re doing God’s work. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>People started finding their way into the hall then, and Will decided it would be best if he left before the true chaos began. He didn’t feel like getting caught in the crossfire at 7 am. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>--</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The rest of the day passed by like normal, and Will was glad he wasn’t too close with any other theatre kids. His history class wasn’t until 1:30 that afternoon, and Will found himself oddly thrilled. So maybe he </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>like a little drama. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hannibal sat a few rows in front of him, right next to the poster of Abe Lincoln on the wall. He was at a perfect staring distance and on more occasions than he would like to admit, Will had caught himself paying more attention to Hannibal than the lesson. Not that he had a crush. Well, not a substantial crush. Finding someone attractive is a far cry from wanting to make out with them in the hallways, and Will had promised himself never to be one of </span>
  <em>
    <span>those </span>
  </em>
  <span>people. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Either way, when Will showed up to history, Hannibal was nowhere to be found. And Will was sure of that, considering the way his eyes were trained on the empty desk for the entire block. Will waited for Hannibal to show up late, but he never did. The clock ticked by for the next hour, and Will eventually realized that he’d paid more attention to the lack of Hannibal than to his notes. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Smart move, man. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Right before the bell, Will felt his phone buzz in his pocket.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>B: </span>
  <em>
    <span>What’s up with Mercutio?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>W: </span>
  <em>
    <span>Didn’t show up.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>B: </span>
  <em>
    <span>For real? Must be too heartbroken for the Boston Tea Party.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>W: </span>
  <em>
    <span>Something like that. I think I’m gonna go look for him.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>B: </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why? You barely know him.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>W: </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m curious. He’s not the type to skip. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>B: </span>
  <em>
    <span>Anything to miss calc.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>W: </span>
  <em>
    <span>Yeah. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Instead of taking the stairs to calc like normal, Will strolled down the hall to the auditorium. No one used it during the school day, making it the perfect place for an overdramatic theater kid to hold a crying session. Knowing Hannibal, he was probably soliloquizing to the empty audience. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But when Will pushed open the door, Hannibal was nowhere to be seen. Will perused the empty seats and considered checking the courtyard before he heard a rustling from backstage. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Bingo.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He snuck back quietly, trying not to make himself noticeable. But as he got closer, the rustling only got stronger, and with it, Will heard grunting, like someone was putting in a great effort. The door to the costume room was ajar, and the noise was coming from inside. As he moved to take a look inside, Will heard a great </span>
  <em>
    <span>crack! </span>
  </em>
  <span>and the grunting ceased. Despite his best interests, Will gave into his curiosity and snuck a glance into the room. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What he saw inside terrified him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Budge was on the ground in a heap, and it looked like his neck had been snapped. Above him stood Hannibal, arms crossed like he was wondering what to do with the body. Will let out an involuntary gasp, and Hannibal noticed it before Will could run. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good Afternoon,” he said pleasantly, like there wasn’t a dead body at his feet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>What the fuck, </span>
  </em>
  <span>thought Will, even as he took a step into the room. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hannibal got no response and continued, “You know, it’s rude to gape.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s rude to murder people,” Will countered before immediately regretting it. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why would you talk back to a guy who just KILLED SOMEONE?!</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hm,” Hannibal mused, looking at Budge. “I think it is best this way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Best to kill him? You’re joking. I’m- I’m calling the cops,” Will said shakily, taking out his phone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hannibal intercepted him halfway, putting Will’s phone in his own pocket. He took a long look at Will before he started talking.  “Will Graham, correct? Senior, head of sound crew?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Will nodded silently.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now Will, I have to ask you to promise me something.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Another nod.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I ask that you don’t tell anyone about this, alright? Just between you and I.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Will knew that he should leave. He should go to Crawford or Bev or the police station down the road, but he didn’t. His feet felt rooted to the spot and Hannibal’s sickly sweet smile forced him to say “Yes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good,” Hannibal offered, picking up the body from the floor. “I ask now that you return to your class, and hopefully come see me after rehearsal tonight. I’d love to get to know you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Will didn’t even register it at first, but when he did, he was far less appalled than he should have been. </span>
  <em>
    <span>It’s not everyday your crush asks you out, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Will thought, deliberately ignoring the whole </span>
  <em>
    <span>there’s a dead body at his feet this probably isn’t the guy to go for</span>
  </em>
  <span> part. “Yeah, that-that’s fine.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hannibal shot Will one last wink before taking a back door out of the room, Budge’s body slung over his shoulder. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Man, this is fucked up, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Will thought. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was even worse that he was looking forward to rehearsals. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Let me know if you enjoyed. Once again, all idea creds go to @girlbosshanniballecter on Tiktok. I'm having trouble deciding if I should leave the open ending or add some more chapters, so let me know if you want more. Sorry it's so short at the moment.</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>